Title: Unit 3 Glossary
Course: ELT 260 Introduction to Hydropower > Section: ELT 260 Introduction to Hydropower

Unit 3 Glossary

Terms

Term | Definitions
Condensation | the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water.
Evaporation | the process in which something is changed from a liquid to a vapor without its temperature reaching boiling point.
Hydrologic | the study of water movement on and beneath the ground, and the physics and chemistry of water.
Hydrologic cycle | the natural cycle by which water is circulated between the Earth’s surface (on or under it) and the atmosphere. In essence, water is evaporated from the oceans, forms clouds, is precipitated on ...
Hydrosphere | part of the earth mainly composed of water.
Infiltration | the process through which a portion of the precipitation that reaches the earth’s surface seeps into the ground.
Interception | the process of interrupting the movement of water in the chain of overland flow leading to streams.
Meteoric water | fresh water derived by condensation from the atmosphere and which accumulates as surface water or underground water.
Overland flow or Runoff | water that does not infiltrate the soil but flows over the surface of the ground to a stream or river.
Precipitation | the process involved or the water that is transferred in solid or liquid form from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface.
Residence time | the average time that water stays in a reservoir before moving to another reservoir.
Subterranean percolation | the process where water oozes, seeps or filters through the soil beneath the surface without a defined pathway or channel.
Transpiration | the process by which plants draw water from the soil and transfer it to their leaves, from which it evaporates through pores in the leaf system.